What does the Pilates Hundred exercise on the Reformer do for us? How is the Reformer Hundred related to the Floor Hundred? What is the essential difference between the two? What is the perceptual difference? What is the purpose and value of one and the other? Let’s find out! Then we can apply both of them in a context-appropriate way.
3 reasons why the Hundred on the Reformer is easier
These 3 facts make the Hundred on the Reformer easier than the Hundred on the ground
- The arm pulsation in a closed kinetic chain: Our arms move rhythmically up and down against 2 fixations – the reformer’s handholds and our shoulder girdle stabilizers.
- Better kinaesthetic perception of our shoulder girdle. Because the springs create a constant and gradual resistance.
- Reduced gravitational force on our upper body due to the closed kinetic foundation of the arms (see fact 1).
At the same time, the Hundred on the Reformer is also more difficult to execute. It presents us with 2 challenges that the Hundred on the ground does not.
2 reasons why the Hundred on the Reformer is more complicated
These 2 facts make executing the Hundred on the Reformer more difficult than the Hundred on the ground
- Improper use of the handholds: We hang on the handholds. This happens when we do not gradually and continuously activate our powerhouse and shoulder girdle stabilizers. As a result, firstly, we are not able to ground our legs and upper body upwards. Secondly, if we hang on the handholds, we cannot counteract gravity and the reformer bed springs by extending the arms towards the pelvis.
- The inability to use the spring-resistance advantage as a kinaesthetic and lifting aid to lift and bend our upper body more easily.
The Hundred for more conscious body awareness
In contrast to the Hundred on the Reformer, the Hundred on the floor is in principle an open kinetic chain exercise. The Hundred on the floor requires us to be more aware of our body and to better understand how we support our body to counteract the effect of gravity. Body awareness is more in demand than ever;)
So, if we are clever, we can use the Hundred exercise on the reformer to get a deeper perceptive understanding for the Hundred exercise on the floor.
Now, what about the therapeutic benefits? Which of the two Pilates Hundred exercises has the greater therapeutic benefit?
Relief for our cervical and thoracic spine
The therapeutic benefit of the Pilates Hundred on the Reformer is a relief of the torsional force on the 7th cervical vertebra and 12th thoracic vertebra. With the Hundred on the floor, this therapeutic effect is mitigated because the body is less well supported in the open kinetic chain than in the closed kinetic chain.
Watch the comparison of the 2 Hundred versions in the video right below. Click now!
As so often in life it is not a question of which is better, but of which is more suitable for which purpose. The Hundred on the reformer has more of a therapeutic benefit and the Hundred on the floor more of a fitness effect.
Try it & fly with it!
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